Valeo sales rise 22% on fuel-saving, self-driving tech

PARIS -- Valeo's quarterly sales rose 22 percent to outpace global vehicle production in all regions, the French supplier said on Wednesday, reiterating upbeat 2017 goals on strong demand for its fuel-saving and automated-driving technology.

Revenue rose to 4.77 billion euros ($5.19 billion) in January-March from 3.92 billion a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

The quarterly performance demonstrates "the high growth potential of each of our four business groups," CEO Jacques Aschenbroich said in the statement.

Under Aschenbroich, Valeo has positioned itself to benefit from a crackdown on CO2 and other emissions through a push into electrification and other fuel-saving engine technologies. It has also become a major supplier of autonomous driving systems in partnership with Israel's Mobileye.

Visibility systems, which include LED lighting, recorded a 14 percent sales increase. Comfort and driving assistance rose 10 percent.

The company reiterated its full-year goal for sales growth at least five percentage points above global automotive production, seen expanding between 1.5 percent and 2 percent. The company has pledged a slight increase in operating margin.

Valeo is also expanding in Asia, most recently with its purchase of Japanese lighting specialist Ichikoh.

Europe's share of the company's business with vehicle manufacturers fell below 50 percent in the first quarter thanks in part to that acquisition, Valeo said. The share of sales to Asian customers rose 6 percentage points to almost one-third.